Thrive Edtech, an education technology startup based in Dhaka, has raised USD 180k in its pre-seed round as it continues to work towards reshaping the education landscape in Bangladesh, per a press release sent to Future Startup.
So far, Thrive has raised over USD 200K in total investment. The company says it is working towards changing how learning works in the classroom by bringing the power of personalized education to every classroom in Bangladesh.
The backers and supporters: Thrive named three backers including Engr. Mehedi Hasan, Chairperson, and founder of Omicon Group, Quazi Zulquarnain, former country head of Uber Bangladesh, and Mr. Abdul Ghafur Bashir, a seasoned professional in the IoT industry and a prolific investor.
Details: The company said it has received a strategic investment from Engr. Mehedi Hasan, Chairperson, and founder of Omicon Group - a Dhaka-based conglomerate with deep experience in the education industry. Omicon group owns leading publishing titles of Bangladesh such as Lecture Publications, Sure Success Publications, and Newton Publications. Omicon has direct channels with over 70% of educational institutions and has one of the biggest educational content libraries in the country. Thrive looks forward to leveraging the market access this partnership allows.
"I believe EdTech is the next big thing in Bangladesh’s education system. We have looked into 50 local EdTech companies and Thrive is the one that stood out. I put my trust in them to impact the education sector here on a mass scale", said Engr. Mehedi Hasan
Quazi Zulquarnain, former country head of Uber Bangladesh, is one of the prime investors. Zulquar launched Uber in Bangladesh and subsequently served as the country head for three years. He currently leads global innovation for Uber's mobility business based out of Amsterdam. Thrive says the company will benefit from his deep operational expertise in scaling technology solutions for Bangladesh and beyond borders.
Mr. Abdul Ghafur Bashir, a seasoned professional in the IoT industry and a prolific investor, joined as an advisor and an investor as part of the round.
Recognitions: Some of Thrive’s notable accolades are being ranked in the 100 EdTech companies in South Asia by HolonIQ. Thrive EdTech also graduated from the NSU Startups Next program – the most competitive startup incubator in the country.
The context: The Education space in Bangladesh is unique. There are over 40Mn students in the country. The ecosystem and its people lack digital infrastructure, device availability, affordability, and tech-savviness. Moreover, the entire education system is overwhelmingly paper-based.
Thrive has realized that education in Bangladesh needs unique solutions that cater to classrooms - the place where learning starts. Hence, the start-up is on a mission to revolutionize how learning happens in classrooms all across Bangladesh.
What the founders have to say:
“Everyone learns in his/her own unique way. So teachers must pay close attention to each and every student and offer personalized guidance for effective learning. This is where the economics of education falls apart in Bangladesh. There are too many students and too few teachers. The analytical overload is simply unbearable. We're actively building a radical solution to this problem. At our essence, we're unlocking quality education at scale”, said Proggo Pratik, Founder, and CPO
“We have a core team of 13 talented minds. They are young yet experienced in the education space. Half of our team members come from teaching backgrounds with years of experience. Most of our engineers have developed EdTech solutions before. This gives the team an Education-First mindset which, when combined with our outstanding team chemistry, drives us to tackle the largest problems in education”, said Rafid Imran, Founder, and CEO.
We have seen decent growth in online education in Bangladesh in the past few years. The coronavirus pandemic has accelerated the pace. Education technology startups have been receiving increased attention from investors since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. Thrive raising new investment is a testament to that new market reality.
While Dhaka has a number of ed-tech players in different verticals, the market does not have a dominant player as yet. In fact, the new investment makes Thrive one of the well-funded startups in the education space.
